October, 2003

Friday, October 31st, 2003

Happy Halloween!

The Witch Head Nebula as imaged by Chris Cook

How's this for scary? The Witch Head Nebula as imaged by this months Utah Skies Astrophotographer of The Month, Chris Cook.

Wednesday, October 29th, 2003

Northern Lights in Northern Utah!

The northern lights as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

The northern lights descended upon Park City this morning appearing along the northern and eastern horizon. Checkout our aurora gallery for more pics.
What's more... aurora have raged around the planet all day... and are expected to continue throughout the night. If you find yourself under clear skies... make it a point to periodically check the northern horizon.

Tuesday, October 28th, 2003

Massive Solar Eruption

A massive X14 solar flare as imaged by SOHO

Solar activity just kicked into hyperdrive. This morning, the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this image of a massive X18-Class solar flare erupting from sunspot #486. This is the most powerful solar flare in 14 years!!!! This is also headed directly towards Earth and could trigger severe geomagnetic activity... even at mid-northern latitudes. Anthony's First Theorem of Geomagnetic Activity dictates that skies over northern Utah will be cloudy. If I were you... I'd be headed for clear skies. Can you say Road Trip? Checkout our Spaceweather Section or go directly to the source... Spaceweather.com

Sunday, October 26th, 2003

Beautiful Solar Prominence

The Sun with a gorgeous prominence as imaged by SOHO

Solar activity remains in overdrive. This beautiful solar prominence was captured in extreme UV by the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). At about the same time, an X-Class solar flare erupted near sunspot #486. Stay tuned... there may be a spike in aurora activity.

Saturday, October 25th, 2003

Two Massive Sunspots

The Sun with two massive sunspots as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

The face of our star is marked by two Jupiter sized sunspots... #484 & #486. These monsters have been hurling Coronal Mass Ejections left and right and have been responsible for a spate of aurora at high northern latitudes. Hopefully, they've got a couple left so that us mid-northerners can see the lights as well.

Friday, October 24th, 2003

Tiny Crescent Moon

A teeny, tiny waning crescent moon as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

This teeny, tiny crescent moon was nabbed shortly after rising above the eastern horizon this morning. With only 23 hours before new, the illuminated portion was only 1% of the visible surface.

Thursday, October 23rd, 2003

Aurora Watch

A HUGE CME is headed our way!!!!

Anthony's First Theorem of Geomagnetic Activity may soon be put to the test... A HUGE!!!! X5 class Solar Flare erupted on the Sun yesterday (Wednesday 10/22). This one may strike a glancing blow on our planet. Spaceweather.com said " This is one of the biggest flares of the current solar cycle. Stay tuned for details". Skies are forecast to be crystal clear here in Park City... when things are expected to get going. We'll see if the clear skies and the aurora actually interact. As many of you know... these things don't happen too often here. Please... Please keep your fingers crossed :-) 

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2003

The Moon and Jupiter

The Moon and Jupiter as imaged by Anthony Arrigo

Just before

dawn on Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, Utah Skies own Anthony Arrigo snapped this shot of the Moon and Jupiter high in the eastern sky. Click to see a lunar close-up...and some Earthshine.

Monday, October 20th, 2003

Two Magical Mornings

Andy Skinner (yoandy@hotmail.com) took this picture at Mono Lake, California, on Sept. 24, 2003.

Before dawn on Tuesday, Oct. 21st, and Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, sky watchers can see two bright planets, the crescent moon and a meteor shower. Check out NASA's "Science@NASA" for more info...

Sunday, October 19th, 2003

Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Tuesday

The annual Orionid Meteor Shower is upon is. The event which runs for most of October and part of November peaks this coming Tuesday evening (10/21). Skywatchers under clear, dark skies can expect to see upwards of 20 meteors per hour..

Thursday, October 16th, 2003

Yang Home Safe in Shenzhou 5 Capsule

Yang Liwei waves after climbing from his capsule.

Wrapping up a historic day in space, the Shenzhou 5 return capsule parachuted to a soft touchdown today, bringing to an end China's first manned voyage into space and opening the door for a wide variety of future plans in the final frontier. See SpaceflightNow for details...

Wednesday, October 15th, 2003

China Enters The Space Age

The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft lifts off

China became only the 3rd nation to put a man in space with the liftoff of the Shenzhou 5 on Wednesday, 10/15/2003.

Thursday, October 9th, 2003

The Moon and The Belt of Venus

The Moon and The Belt of Venus as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

The Moon was caught rising in The Belt of Venus on Wednesday evening in this shot by Utah Skies own Anthony Arrigo. The Belt of Venus is a zone of transition... between the dark shadow cast by the Earth and the still lit sky above it. To see the Belt of Venus, all you need is a clear horizon in the opposite direction from the setting... or rising sun. 

Sunday, October 5th, 2003

Mars and the Moon

Mars and the Moon as imaged by Anthony Arrigo of Utah Skies

The Moon posed again with the red planet Mars in this shot by Utah Skies own Anthony Arrigo

Wednesday, October 1st, 2003

Zodiacal Light

Zodiacal Light as imaged by Dominic Cantin

Fall is the ideal time to spot Zodiacal Light above the eastern horizon. Zodiacal Light or "false dawn" is a triangular shaped glow above the horizon in the hour or so before true dawn. This beautiful shot was captured by Dominic Cantin of Canada.